Jim Harbaugh met the Supreme Court justices in the most Jim Harbaugh way possible

If you're new Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, you don't just visit the monuments on a trip to Washington, D.C. No: You head straight for the hallowed halls in which our nation's playmakers reside. You head for the Supreme Court.

Harbaugh sat down with The Wall Street Journal for an interview, and described an April trip to D.C. during which he managed to meet five of the justices. The former San Francisco 49ers coach was classically succinct with his impressions of most of the judges: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a "very dynamic speaker," he said, and Chief Justice John Roberts invited Harbaugh into his office, where the judge showed off a Declaration of Independence written in stone ("Very memorable," Harbaugh enthused).

But Harbaugh waxed a bit more poetic in his description of Justice Clarence Thomas, a Nebraska fan who nevertheless won the Michigan coach's approval.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

"I've been around some enthusiastic people," Harbaugh said. "[Thomas is] one of the most enthusiastic people I've ever met. It was a great thrill."

Thrill or not, the Supreme Court probably still has its work cut out toppling Harbaugh's favorite judge — Judge Judy — from her pedestal.